


Cheating, Lying, Stealing

by Kindassunshine



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Panic Attacks, Suicide, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 04:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12903690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kindassunshine/pseuds/Kindassunshine
Summary: His fingertips traced along the flat edge of the kunai in his sleeve. Perhaps he should just… end it. He closed his eyes unsure if the heat in them was from tears or the Sharingan.Izuna isn't sure how much longer he can keep lying to himself, or Madara, but perhaps he can see a glimmer of hope in the last place he'd expect.





	Cheating, Lying, Stealing

‘Completely out of it,’ Izuna muttered, nudging one of the unconscious forms with the toe of his sandal studiously ignoring his brother. Madara was staring at him and unfortunately it was a look he recognised. The sick feeling that had been building in his stomach since that morning had suddenly intensified.   
They were half a mile from the border with the Land of Wind, raiding a merchant caravan that had failed to pay protection money to the gangster that owned that section of the trade route; illegal technically but lucrative certainly.   
Perhaps guessing what might befall unprotected goods on the road, they had hired a handful of ninja. If they could be called that, Izuna reflected looking down at his feet. Even with just the pair of Uchiha, the fight had lasted barely thirty seconds.  
‘They’re alive,’ Madara stated as though the fact was confusing to him. And honestly it probably was, Izuna reflected sucking his lip as his rate heart picked up sharply. Somewhere in the distance he could hear a sort of high pitched whining and his breath was becoming shorter the longer he looked into Madara’s black eyes.   
‘They’re so young,’ he choked, fighting to remain calm but he was beginning to shake uncontrollably.  
‘Don’t,’ Madara hissed sharply baring his teeth. But there was no resisting. Izuna took a huge hiccupping breath, dropping to his knees, fists clenching and unclenching ineffectually as he tried to stop the trail of thoughts screaming through his mind; bloody corpses, strangled screams, the acrid smell of smoke, pale lifeless limbs.   
Madara was gripping him hard by the shoulder. Izuna tried to ground himself in warmth and weight of his hand, breath coming in tight gasps.  
‘Breathe slowly,’ Madara ordered curtly, eyes flickered around them, ‘I’m here – you’re safe.’ Izuna took a deep shaking breath, feeling slowly returning to his limbs. He waited until he was sure his legs would support him before trying to stand. Madara took a step back, folding his arms and looking somewhere to the left of his brother. Yet another expression he recognised, Izuna thought with soft sigh. His throat felt raw, burning and he could taste bile in mouth.   
‘Forgive me,’ Izuna said quietly. He was clammy, his limbs felt tender and loosely strung together like he’d been beaten badly.   
‘That’s twice in a month,’ Madara grunted, accusation clear, ‘have you been keeping up your meditation?’   
‘It doesn’t help,’ Izuna told him, regretting his honesty almost as soon as the words left him. Madara huffed out a breath and Izuna knew he was restraining himself from shouting with some difficulty. Izuna glared back at him, shame burning in his chest. Weakness, their father had called these short fits. And although Madara had never spoken that word his expression said it clearly enough.   
‘Go back,’ he instructed turning his back to his brother, long hair flicking like a whip, ‘I will… finish here.’   
‘As you wish,’ Izuna mumbled, body flicking before Madara changed his mind. He was sure he couldn’t bear to watch his brother behead half a dozen unconscious children. 

He was less than ten minutes outside the Uchiha settlement when he stopped to throw up. He allowed himself a single sob, eyes streaming. Then his legs were folding beneath him, chest compressing until he couldn’t take a full breath. His chakra flared, Sharingan activating and deactivating at random as he tried to claw back to himself. The world was tilting on its axis and Izuna knew he was going to lose consciousness.   
He opened his eyes slowly, aware only of the soft sounds of the forest around him. The earth smelled damp and strangely savoury beneath him. Izuna rolled so he lay on his back. The sky above him was blue streaked through with pink.   
This couldn’t go on, was the thought that stood out against all the others. His fingertips traced along the flat edge of the kunai in his sleeve. Perhaps he should just… end it. He closed his eyes unsure if the heat in them was from tears or the Sharingan. He felt like he had the day his eldest brother had died; throwing himself between a barely six year old Izuna and an enemy jutsu. His mother had died in that same ambush leaving Madara to raise Izuna and himself.   
It had started about then, this foolishness he was unable to shake even now, and the nightmares. Tajima had been much more tolerant of these however. After all he could hardly punish Izuna when Madara woke screaming more nights than he didn’t.   
Izuna could hear footsteps at in the distance and thought perhaps he’d better stand up before whichever patrol it was found the clan leader’s nephew communing with nature. He stilled noticing what he hadn’t before; the chakra signature was familiar.   
He spat on ground activating his Sharingan and drawing his long sword in a single movement. He couldn’t actually believe the Senju would dare come this close to the Uchiha settlement. Well, he thought as he approached the figure flickering through the trees, perhaps he wouldn’t have to worry about facing his brother again after all.   
Before he could attack a squat man came barring towards him out of the deepening twilight.   
‘Please, Shinobi-san,’ he gasped falling to his knees, ‘help me!’ he wailed catching Izuna by the hem of his robe, nearly pulling him to his knees too.  
‘Get off,’ he barked kicking him back, turning quickly to face the colourless man approaching them. The other man paused, crouched on a high branch. Analysing his next move no doubt, Izuna thought glaring red eyes.   
‘Izuna,’ Tobirama muttered, sounding mildly surprised, as he landed soundlessly on the forest floor before him. The squat man squawked, wriggling behind Izuna trying to make himself as small as possible.   
‘The border is that way,’ Izuna grunted, indicating with his sword. Tobirama’s hands were empty, his stance relaxed but Izuna was not fooled.  
‘I misplaced something,’ Tobirama told him deadpan, pointing at the man currently trying and failing to conceal himself behind Izuna’s legs. Izuna snorted softly, sinking his hips and readying himself to engage.   
But then, with a strangled yell, the squat man broke cover and was felled a second later by Tobirama’s kunai. He’d vanished before the kunai hit its mark. He needn’t have bothered, Izuna observed – the man was dead before he hit the ground. Izuna watched as Tobirama carefully sealed the corpse in a scroll and then stood to peer at him.  
‘What did he do?’ Izuna asked to stop the other staring at him rather than out of actual interest. He wasn’t sure if he felt like fighting or not yet. He was nervous he’d lose control again but looking at Tobirama Senju he could feel his blood burning in his veins.   
‘Something he won’t do again,’ Tobirama murmured. Izuna huffed a laugh, sheathing his sword as the killing instinct ebbed out of him. Tobirama shifted slightly like an animal that he scented something on the breeze.   
‘Leave now and I won’t kill you,’ Izuna ordered, arms folded in his best impression of Madara.  
‘You have no desire to kill me,’ Tobirama pointed out, tucking the scroll into his robe.   
‘That does mean I won’t,’ Izuna growled, although the words deadened something in him. Tobirama was watching him again now. Analysing again, Izuna was sure. He tensed ready for an attack.   
‘This can’t go on,’ he spoke suddenly, gravely into the gathering darkness. Izuna felt a tingling rush of adrenaline at his words – what was he talking about?  
‘We’re dead in the water, all of us. Before too long we’ll drive each other extinct,’ Tobirama continued, ‘we can’t carry on in the way we are – it’s unsustainable.’   
‘Don’t say foolish things to me, Senju,’ Izuna spat, trying swallow the throbbing in his throat.   
‘You’re not stupid,’ Tobirama grunted. Izuna smirked at him tipping his head to the side – what a complement.   
‘Then perhaps I don’t care,’ he murmured, the wind carding through his long hair and ruffling the collar of his robe, ‘there’s no way to stop a flood you know.’   
Before he could speak Tobirama stilled, posture instantly tightening and Izuna knew he had sensed what he had. Madara’s chakra blaring through the forest, growing louder by the second. Tobirama had flickered back to the branch but before he flashed out of sight he shouted: ‘you don’t stop a flood, you build a damn.’   
Izuna stared at the place he’d been crouched for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the Founders Era! I guessed completely wrong on who would be the grumpy one out of Tobirama and the First Hokage, thank goodness for the reanimation jutsu or we'd never know ;) 
> 
> So If I'm honest the rating is probably going to go up... so brace yourselves!


End file.
